(COLORADO SPRINGS) — The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) said $1.9 billion of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) money was “recovered”. The department added that the funds are now available for other use by the Treasury.
Homeward Pikes Peak in Colorado Springs is concerned for their future since their federal funding contracts with HUD haven’t been finalized yet. They say their federal funding contracts are usually worked out in January. While the was funding approved by the last administration, they feel like its future is up in the air.
“One of the challenges is that there’s no communication directly from HUD to us as a grantee. That is really nerve-wracking. It’s nerve-racking for myself, my staff, and the people we serve here in this community,” said Beth Roalstad, the Homeward Pikes Peak Chief Executive Officer.
Homeward Pikes Peak provides housing, recovery, and advocacy services for people exiting homelessness. As a non-profit, about 50% of their funding comes from federal contracts. Without those contracts, Roalstad says they’d have to figure out how to pay the rent on about 115 households.
“Those (contracts) provide rental assistance and supportive services for over 100 households, which translates into approximately 130-140 lives here in the community,” said Roalstad, “We are serving individuals in this community that earn under $20,000 a year. That consumes families, individuals, and veterans.”
They’ve had contracts with HUD for about 18 years, but recent announcements have left them feeling worried.
“With the help of DOGE, We will identify and eliminate all waste, fraud, and abuse. We’ve already identified $260 million in savings and still have much more to accomplish,” said Scott Turner, the Secretary of HUD.
FOX21 News spoke with a HUD employee today, who said all of the HUD employees they’re aware of, were offered a deferred resignation. They said there’s a lot of fear and uncertainty right now, for all federal employees who chose to stay.
“The chaos coming out of Washington has just prevented us (from) feeling confident about the future. We have been talking to local foundations, and I’ve been reaching out to city and state government, but there are limitations on what they can do to backfill the contracts we have,” said Roalstad.
